Tom Colicchio quotes from Top Chef

Stephen looked at us like we were crazy! His Japanese infused, confused tamale?

Tom Colicchio

He's just getting over-creative, and it's just getting in the way. I think he gets too wrapped up in the dogma of cooking.

Padma

What is the greater crime, though, leaving something off the plate...

Tom

...or Clay's dish?

Tom

Is this the dish that you think should send you home?

No.

Tom

[pauses] Hmm. Okay.

Who here thinks they have a shot at Fan Favorite?

Tom

My friend, you have, no shot, I think!

[still laughing] Zero! Zero!

Tom

None! [laughs]

Tom

What bugs me is, how do you come here and compete and not know what a piccata is? And he didn't know that and I still don't think he knows.

Anthony Bourdain

I really find it worrying that I had absolutely no idea what was coming out of his mouth.

Let's just say it wasn't just his gnocchi that were dense.

Tom

[trying not to laugh] That's just mean!

Tom

[to Ryan]. I'm not quite sure why you chose a dessert, and also a dessert I would never think it a million years to see at a tailgate party.

I wanted to have a whole dining experience at my table. And that's where I was hitting. I wanted to be able to say "Okay, so somebody doesn't eat chicken, but, wow there's a dessert. And you know, doing a dessert, I don't think was too left-field.

I don't think a dessert is left-field. I just think poached pear with [crème fraîche]and huckleberry sauce was a bit left-field. I just think there would've been more options that would've been more appropriate.

Personally, I wanted to cook the way that I think I would personally like to see at a tailgate. I don't eat heavy. I don't eat ribs. And I thought of these people and said "Cool, I'm gonna serve chicken. Instead of serving something on a bun, I'm gonna do it in the application of a salad form."

The bread salad that I got was almost all bread. And I guess I was expecting for it to be sort of moist and found it really dry.

I dissected a tailgate party and the caliber of people that I'm cooking with, and I'm looking at them, and I'm like "I have to do something different." You know, the people that came up, everyone was super sweet at this event. Ladies coming up for recipes, and "How did you make this?" and "Why would you do that, and this and that." and "Wow, pea stew on top, finishing a chicken." "This is quite interesting. We love it." And bringing in, I hate to use the word "California flair-"

Tom

But, this challenge was not about that. This challenge was about simple food, to the masses, in the form of a tailgate.

Yeah, totally fair.